High fat and poor nutritional content is only part of the problem with eating fast-food regularly. Eating food on-the-go also influences your attitude toward food. When you eat “fast”, the purpose of a meal changes from enjoying the food and loading up on nutrients, to getting full quickly, regardless of nutritional content.

Fast-food consumption also affects our children’s attitudes towards food and their understanding of what constitutes a meal. If you regularly eat take-out fast-food as a family meal, or frozen convenience products that attempt to emulate the fare of fast-food outlets, keep in mind that these foods and eating habits will be the basis of your children’s “nutritional education”.

If you do eat fast-food regularly, or even if you only eat it on occasion, remember that you don't have to go for calorie-loaded fries and burgers – you can make wiser choices.

• Read the nutritional tables. Many fast-food restaurants now have nutritional information for their menu items available in brochure, poster or website format. Read them before you order. To be well-prepared, become familiar with the nutritional content of the items at your favorite fast-food restaurants.
  
  
• Check The CalorieKing Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter. The 2008 edition of the book has over 200 fast food and restaurant listings. Look at the fast-food menu items to assess the calories, fats and carbs before you order.
  
  
• Beware of upsizing! Although you might get a bigger bite for your dollar when you up-size, just remember you’re getting an up-sized calorie load for your body along with it. Before you place your order, consider how hungry you really are and how many calories and grams of fat that up-size will add!